


Finally a Memorial

by Wingless_Hummingbird



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Sanses | Nightmare's Gang (Undertale), Bromance, Dust Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Skeletons, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hallucinations, Heartwarming, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, M/M, Personal Growth, Sad with a Happy Ending, hint of polyamory, minor character death?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:40:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29292285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wingless_Hummingbird/pseuds/Wingless_Hummingbird
Summary: Sometimes, even an evil skeleton needs some comfort in his life.Everybody knows, Dust deals with gruesome demons only he can see.Luckily, his mates know exactly what to do.. and accidentally make this gesture a true treasure for all of them.
Relationships: Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	Finally a Memorial

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo, I wrote a heart-warming bromance.. Well, I tried to be as fluffy as I can possibly be, without breaking their characters. ~ xD Good thing that I always wanted to give Dust the peace he deserves. 
> 
> No warning this time, I hope it's safe to read. ^^

“Leave this world’s Papyrus to me.”, Dust’s purple eyelight brightens at the mere thought of facing another version of his brother again. _YES, BROTHER! TAKE ALL THE EXP YOU CAN GET! YOU’LL BECOME SO POWERFUL!_

Nightmare’s trio stands in the middle of Snowdin Forest. Trees are placed next to each other like tall statues; no leaf dares to fall from their branches. The snow on the ground and branches shimmers like glitter, pure and innocent, which provides a harsh contrast to their respective AUs.

“You sure? Boss doesn’t want us to kill just because for the sake of it.”, Killer flips a knife with practiced ease and catches it again without even looking. Horror scratches the inside of his eye sockets eerily. “Aww, stop behaving like Nightmare’s lapdog and let Dusty have his fun.”, he comments with a gruesome grin on his face.

Killer shrugs unconcerned, “Heh, I’m not your babysitter. Do what ya want, but if we mess up because of your incapability to follow orders, you’re the one getting punished.”, he smirks but tension hides within his grin. _JUST KILL HIM!_ Tautness rises, punishment from Nightmare is nothing to be taken lightly. Neither of them speaks another word. Big snowflakes are falling on their bodies.

A twig snaps somewhere in the distance and Horror takes that as a clue to break the silence, “Let’s go. I wanna be home before dinner.”, he already starts walking away, swinging his axe tentatively. The big-boned skeleton has the appearance of a lumberjack. Except, the axe isn’t for cutting trees.

Killer follows the scary skeleton in short distance, whereas Dust takes a different direction. _YOU DIDN’T NEED PERMISSION FROM THEM, BROTHER! JUST DO WHAT YOU WANT!_ “That’s not how it works, Pap.”, Dust mumbles.

When Dust emerges from the dense forest, he spots the abandoned sentry post. This world, Nightmare told them, is a normal AU, which means no Swap or Fell universe. While Fell universes are the most fun to raid, their boss barely lets them attack one. For obvious reasons, those universes provide enough negativity on their own. On top of that monsters there are strong, and traps are deadly.

He hops up to sit on the edge of the too familiar sentry station’s counter and waits. _STOP BEING A LAZYBONES, SANS. THE LADY IN THE RUINS WILL GIVE YOU A LOT OF EXP_. Dust’s manic smile drops and he pulls the hood deeper in his face. Paps just won’t shut up today.

Suddenly quick footsteps approach him, “SANS! THERE YOU ARE! THERE’S AN EMERGENCY, WE NEED TO GO BACK TO SNOWDIN IMMEDIATELY!”, the skeleton of interest gestures widely with his hands as soon as Dust looks at him.

_THAT’S YOUR CHANCE, BROTHER! ATTACK HIM!_ The ghostly form of his real brother floats in his field of vision. “You’re always so impatient. Don’t worry, I got it.”, Dust answers. A tiny part of him wants to be as far away from here as possible. Join his comrades, maybe even share a laugh or two.

When this world’s Papyrus is finally in close proximity, a blaster appears behind the tall skeleton and charges a menacing attack. Papyrus swirls around, only to face the scary weapon. “S-SANS? WHAT IS THIS?”, concern infects his cheerful voice.

“Sorry, pal. I’m not your brother.”, these words taste bitter in his mouth. The blaster fires, taking a good amount of HP from the victim. _YES, KEEP GOING!_

Papyrus’ breath comes in short gasps while he’s kneeling on all fours, snow melted away where the strong attack came close to the ground. Who is this strange monster that looks so awfully like his own brother? Why is he attacking him?!

A sharp, painful sting in his chest drowns every thought. The innocent skeleton looks down and notices a pointed bone impaling him, stabbing right through his soul. Unbearable realization creeps up his spine. He coughs violently, strong magic is trying desperately to heal the gaping wound.

Luckily, pain doesn’t last much longer before his remaining HP goes quickly down to 0. There’s no sorrow, only worry about Sans and guilt that he can’t be there for him any longer. The attacker’s looming presence is standing right in front of him but has no strength left to look up.

When he tries to speak, his voice is a mere whisper, “Sans… No, whoever you are, I won’t resent you, or hate you, or hurt you. I’d rather die. So, If I die now, I want to tell you that it’s okay, because it isn’t your fault for doing it. It is just that you don’t know any better. I die hopeful, that my death might help… to understand someday.”

His coughs are getting weaker, eyelight extinguish. A short moment later, he turns into dust, leaving his red scarf on the snowy ground.

The EXP feels good, all senses sharpen immediately and the world around him becomes so much more vivid. _PERFECT! NOW TAKE A SHORTCUT TO SNOWDIN AND KILL THE REST! YOU STILL NEED TO GET STRONGER!_ His dead brother’s raucous voice lets Dust flinch. “That’s not part of the mission, bro.” _STOP LISTENING TO THEM._

Horror vanishes inside the inn, while Killer breaks all windows using his knives. Monsters all around him try to run away or hide deeper in their homes. The hateful skeleton picks up a few glass shards and throws them like shuriken at the citizens. How they scream in agony is like music to his ears. Spreading negativity is so easy.

Something flies in Killer’s direction, but the versed skeleton dodges casually. “That’s disgusting, Horror.”, he comments when he notices the amputated arm lying on the ground. Horror catches up to him, “Heh, I thought I could lend you a hand.”, both skeletons snicker euphorically.

Echoes of Dust’s psychotic laughter are drifting in their direction. “I think we’re done here. Let’s pick up Dust and go back.”, Killer announces. 

As Dust is walking along the path he knows too well, his brother won’t stop criticizing his obedience. _YOU ARE A DISAPPOINTMENT, SANS!... WHY AREN’T YOU LISTENING TO ME?!..._ By the time he meets the others, he’s riled up from both his brother and the EXP.

…

It’s late afternoon when the trio turns to their home, Nightmare’s castle. As usual, they appear in the throne room. Their boss already awaits them, sitting on a radiant throne of obsidian, overlooking the whole room. But to be honest, the throne doesn’t look comfortable, too hard and cold. Like Nightmare himself, they always say jokingly.

This room has no windows, a black lithic floor and four pillars with some sort of light source attached on them. An illustration of a large apple tree on the arched ceiling is emitting its own dim lavender-colored light.

Dust is already about to leave but gets stopped by Nightmare’s voice. “Dust. I sense your amount of self-control necessary to keep this level of calmness. Be aware that your effort is noticed.”

_LOOK AT THEM, THEY ACTUALLY ENJOY GETTING PRAISED! DISGUSTING! YOU DON’T NEED THIS, LEAVE!_ “Could you be quiet for once, Pap?”, Dust hisses quietly before turning around to face the others, “It’s fine. I… need some time alone.”

He barely remembers the short walk to his room and directly crumples onto the bed with a discouraged whimper. Emotions are strangling his soul, as fresh memories of the death of another Papyrus taint it. Even the numbness of LV can’t dull the pain. Papyrus won’t stop urging him on to do this over and over again. Nightmare let him slip up this time, but for how long could he get away with this?

While the insane skeleton is resting in his room, Killer dares to express his concern, “It’s bad again, huh?”

Nightmare folds one leg over the other while resting his skull on his hand, signaling that the official part of their mission is over, and they can talk openly. “It is worse than usual.”

Horror is using his axe as a cane, shifting some of his weight to stand more comfortable. “Welp, food always calms me down and for Kills it’s the carving. Isn’t there a way to calm him? Heh, too bad we can’t just exorcise this insanity.”, Horror comments.

Nightmare’s tentacle twitch once. “Considering our limited options, there is something which typically helps overcome the loss of a loved one… I might need your assistance for the rest of the day.”, he won’t force them to help. They’ve done enough for today.

But they agree without hesitation.

…

“You called for me?”, Dust’s hands are shoved into his jacket pockets, the hood obscuring his face. Nightmare, who has been waiting in his study, puts his pen down. “Indeed. There is something you need to see, Dust.”, he opens a portal right beside the annoyed looking skeleton.

_CAREFUL, BROTHER! THIS COULD BE A TRAP!_ Dust glances at the portal but doesn’t move. What if Papyrus is right? Only when Nightmare raises from his chair and steps wordlessly through the portal, Dust is convinced enough to follow him.

He immediately knows they’re in his bleak AU, his old home. Will Nightmare abandon him? Constant paranoia is enough to disturb the most stubborn of minds. He gets ready to attack the dark skeleton if he has to, his magic eager to form whatever is needed to get out of this empty hell.

Nightmare points at something in the distance. Discomfort shows in the way his tentacles swish around his body. This is the very place he killed his brother. _WHAT IS HE SCHEMING? DON’T TRUST HIM, BROTHER!_ Dust ignores his brother as best as he can and turns his head in the direction his boss is pointing.

A round object almost as big as himself is placed right where his brother died. He inches closer cautiously and without letting his guard down. He shivers, but not from the cold. It’s the thought of losing everything. _STOP TREMBLING LIKE AN ABANDONED DOG!_ He doesn't understand, what's the meaning of this?

When he’s eventually close enough to touch the black object, he notices elegant carvings that look a lot like Killer’s handiwork. There’s an astonishing accurate portrait of his brother and the word ‘PAPYRUS’ beautifully written under the picture. His hand moves automatically to trail his phalanges along the stone. Its surface is smooth and shiny, like a gemstone.

“What is this?”, he chokes out, looking back at Nightmare. Said skeleton is a few steps behind him, giving him enough space. “A memorial. Don’t think too much of it... Horror and Killer are the ones who made the rock bewildering nifty, I merely ‘gathered’ this onyx and brought it here. These idiots spent their whole night on this.”

_A MEMORIAL? LIKE A TOMBSTONE?_ “…What for? Who died?”, Dust asks bluntly, his hood slides off his skull. He dares not to breathe. Nightmare’s gaze shifts from the memorial to Dust. They share an intense moment, before he speaks, “Don’t let death be stronger than you, Dust. This… thing that keeps stalking you is not your brother. Not really. We built this so that you don’t forget who Papyrus really was.”

His words send chills down Dust’s spine. It makes sense. Yes, he did kill his brother. But his brother didn’t leave him, right? He turned his head to look at Papyrus. When he can’t find him there, he spins around to look for him.

Relief lights up his soul as the ghostly upper half of his bro is floating in front of the memorial. _…THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT WHEN I SAID I WANTED MONSTERS TO CARVE A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY HEAD… BUT IT WILL SUFFICE…_ He smiles genuinely as his gloved hand touches the black stone.

Tears gather in his eye sockets as he observes his brother, too numb to move or think about his guard anymore. His Papyrus really looks… dead. Suddenly, an aura of grey taints the world around him, like a fog that won’t ever clear again.

Two pairs of footsteps are coming closer; but no need to turn around. “You’re some wimpy assholes, you know that?”, Dust’s voice is close to breaking. Horror snickers, “Dunno, we’re not the ones crying.”, he states nonchalantly which earns him a jab in his ribcage from Killer.

That’s when Dust decides that he already lost this pretend play. When he shortcuts in front of his mates and takes them in his arms, the world around him seems to disappear. The others return the gesture a second later, padding him on the back. These wimps even picked Echo Flowers before they came here.

Tears are running down his cheekbones, soaking his comrades’ clothes. Neither of them cares. His shoulders are trembling heavily, and he buries his hands into their jackets like his life depends on it. But he keeps his voice down as a last resort of dignity.

Nightmare looks away to honor their emotional moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other attentively. He senses sincerity emitting from all of them.

“But, why?”, Dust asks as they separate. He wipes falling tears away as good as possible, but they keep returning.

Killer gets self-conscious by their obvious display of affection, so he places the flowers around the memorial, scheming occupation. Nightmare chuckles amused as he senses Killer’s emotions. It’s a lot easier for Horror to answer honestly: “We wanted to help you, that’s all.”

Dust’s smile returns, still maintaining his typical craziness. “Thanks… He likes… I mean, he’d surely like it.”, he whispers while watching Killer decorating the memorial. _NYEHEHE! I LOOK VERY PHOTOGENIC, DON’T I?_ His bro looks so happy, Dust almost forgot how his positive smile looked like. 

They stare at the tombstone for a while in utter silence. Nightmare grants them this moment to think about long past times, enjoying their melancholy. “…Are you ready to leave? Of course, you can return here any time you want.”, Nightmare suggests after a few minutes. All of them nod in agreement.

As they walk away, Dust notices that his brother isn’t floating beside him. He frowns confused and turns around. The ghost stays next to the tombstone. _I’D LIKE TO STAY HERE FOR A WHILE LONGER. YOU’LL COME BACK AND VISIT AGAIN, HOPEFULLY?_ Fresh tears are gathering in his eye sockets. “Sure thing, bro. Everything for you.”

A tentacle trails along Dust’s shoulders. “We will take good care of him, Papyrus.”, Nightmare reassures this hallucination for his member’s peace of mind.

And with that being said, they leave this place, for today. 

…

They emerge in the huge entrance hall. “How can I ever thank you for that?”, such a momentous present surely comes with a price. But what can they possibly take from him? How can he ever repay this debt? Nightmare just makes a dismissive wave of his hand, “There is no need for that.”

“Heh…”, Killer’s elegant fingers glide along Dust’s spine suggestively, “…there might be a way to show how much you like us.” When they see Dust blushing, Horror and Killer start laughing, Nightmare just rolls his eyelight but also smiles knowingly.

After their fit of laughter dies away, Killer stretches his arms, still sore from working all night. Multiple blades hidden in his sleeve create metallic sounds as he shakes his tired arms out. Going on a mission wouldn’t be the best idea right now. “But for now, how does an episode of Hellsing sound?”, Horror proposes.

All four skeletons spend the rest of the day and night together in the common room.

And finally, a peaceful silence surrounds Dust.


End file.
